The Love of God In Shepherds | 1 Thessalonians 3:1-10 | Richard Caldwell

Scripture

• 1 Thessalonians 3:1–10

About this sermon

Introduction: Biblically faithful pastoral leadership is never leadership without love. It is never leadership without a pastor’s heart. IF YOU LACK THE SHEPHERD’S LOVE FOR THE CHURCH, YOU ARE NOT A TRUE LEADER FOR THE CHURCH. “For you are our glory and joy” (2:20). What kind of man says that and means it? A man whose life is wrapped up in the wellbeing of the church. So important is love to spiritual leadership that Paul wants this church to know his love for them. THAT IS WHAT HE IS DOING IN THE EARLY PART OF 1 THESSALONIANS; HE IS ENGAGING IN AN EXPLANATION. Paul felt the need to explain his love for this church because he had been concerned that they would doubt it. He was forced to leave them suddenly. He had not been able to return to them. And he wanted them to know that it had nothing to do with his commitment to them or his affection for them. And when he comes to the 3rd chapter, he continues to give details about what transpired from the time he left Thessalonica to the present. AND IN THESE DETAILS, HE POURS OUT WHAT IS IN HIS HEART FOR THIS CHURCH. And as he does this, we meet with the heart of a pastor. To be used for the right kind of leadership, we must be the right kind of men. And TO BE THE RIGHT KIND OF MEN IS TO BE SUBJECT TO THE SANCTIFYING WORK OF Jesus Christ Himself, because it is CHRIST WHO GIVES SHEPHERDS TO HIS CHURCH. Christ ascended into heaven, and He has given gifted men to care for His people (Acts 20:28, Ephesians 4:8-12, 1 Peter 5:1-4) THE GREAT APOSTLE WAS ONE OF THOSE MEN. Today, in Paul, we see FIVE MARKS OF THE LOVE OF GOD THROUGH SHEPHERDS. I. GOOD SHEPHERDS ARE MARKED BY SELF-SACRIFICING CHOICES (vs.1-2) Paul’s concern for this church was so intense that IT WOULDN’T LEAVE HIM ALONE. It was so intense that it moved him to make sure that their needs were met. I don’t think we are wrong to say that Paul was characterized by a kind of concern for the churches that BURDENED him, UNSETTLED him at times, and MOVED HIM to take action that then proved to be effectual. In many ways, God guided Paul’s ministry efforts and choices through the passions that He gave this man for the churches. When Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he described the consuming nature of the concern that he carried in his heart for the churches. NAS 2 Corinthians 11:25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. 26 I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; 27 I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure upon me of concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern? The Pauline epistles are full of examples of that kind of passion. NOTE: I have said to people that perhaps ministry would be easy for someone who doesn’t carry a burden for it. When Paul says he reached a point where he could no longer ENDURE, he uses a word that can mean “to cover.” The idea being to “pass over in silence” regarding what displeases you. But the word came to mean, in a general sense, to bear up under difficulty, to ENDURE something. MUCH AS SOMEONE MIGHT SAY THEY “JUST COULDN’T STAY SILENT ANYMORE,” PAUL IS SAYING HE COULDN’T WAIT ANY LONGER TO FIND OUT WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN THESSALONICA. QUICKLY: We must put some pieces together from this letter and what we have in the book of Acts, to trace his decision making, but here is what appears to have taken place.

Topics

• Love & Compassion